Congress questions Manohar Parrikar's 'silence' on Goa mining ban, Mahadayi water dispute in video message to BJP workers

Panaji: The Goa Congress on Monday questioned the “silence” of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on issues like mining ban and sharing of the Mahadeyi river water in his video message played at the meeting of BJP workers addressed by party chief Amit Shah in Panaji on Sunday. [caption id=“attachment_4356983” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar. Reuters[/caption] In the message, Parrikar (62), currently undergoing treatment in the USA for a pancreatic ailment, said he would return to his home state in the “next few weeks”. He also spoke about the Karnataka elections. “It is surprising that the chief minister had no time to mention the current issues like the mining ban, which are affecting the livelihood of the common people,” Congress’ Goa spokesman Siddhanath Buyao said while addressing a press conference in Panaji. He said Parrikar had to release the message due to the pressure mounted by the Congress which has demanded a “full time” chief minister to run the state. “We were surprised that Parrikar mostly spoke about his party in the video. He was more bothered about the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, which the BJP is going to lose anyway,” Buyao said. Parrikar had exhorted the party cadres to get ready for the 2019 elections and said the country needed Narendra Modi as prime minister again. “…..There was no statement on the stoppage of the mining activity in the state or on the issue of the Mahadayi river water diversion problem or about several unconstitutional things that are currently happening in Goa,” Buyao said. Mining activity in the coastal state came to a halt since mid-March this year in the wake of the apex court order quashing the second renewal of the 88 mining leases. The state government had last week resolved to file a review petition against the Supreme Court order. Goa, Karnataka, and Maharashtra are the contesting parties in the Mahadayi inter-state water disputes tribunal over the controversial Kalsa-Bhandura dam project across Mahadayi river, through which Karnataka aims to divert water from the river basin. Buyao said, “Parrikar should have told us when the next Assembly session would be summoned. The Assembly was curtailed over his health issues (in March) and was never summoned again”. Parrikar is undergoing treatment at a hospital in the USA, where he was admitted in the first week of March this year after being treated at Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital.